China Unveils Smart Laser Weeding Robot

Beijing, 30 Jun (ONA) --- A Chinese company has rolled out an intelligent laser weeding robot, and this after has completed algorithm validation trials in test fields. This robot is expected to replace chemical herbicides.

A high-end version of the robot features up to 32 laser heads, enabling it to destroy as many as 320,000 weeds per hour, which is four to eight times more efficient than traditional methods that combine manual labor and herbicides

The technology, which maintains a weed removal rate of over 95 percent, aims to eliminate chemical herbicide residues that contaminate soil and water, reducing agricultural pollution at its source.

The robot, Hg LaserWeeder, was showcased at an event hosted by Huagong Technology Industry Co Ltd, one of its developers, in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province.

Equipped with data models covering thousands of crop and weed varieties and an AI-powered vision system, the robot can dynamically adjust its laser intensity to eliminate weeds while sparing crops, said Xiong Bian, AI algorithm lead at the company's research institute.

The recognition and targeting process takes less than five milliseconds from image capture to weed elimination.

--- Ends/Khalid